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After decades of setbacks, animal welfare groups convince the government to back a neuter and release programme for strays, writes Elaine YauEvery Saturday, volunteers fan out across the hills around Lion Rock in Wong Tai Sin to capture stray dogs, which are neutered before being released back into the woods.self storage The non-profit-making Veterinary Service Society has performed the procedure on 300 of an estimated 500 stray dogs in the area since it started the scheme in 2009.Society chairman and veterinarian Mark Mak Chi-ho reckons the programme, which recruited about 200 volunteers, has helped keep the population of strays around Lion Rock under control.“Wong Tai Sin District Council has received fewer complaints from residents regarding feral dogs; puppies found in the hills are also adopted by pet owners,” Mak says.Yet despite its success, similar Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate and Release (TNVR) programmes for stray dogs have run into severe obstacles in other districts. Animal welfare activists say although schemes to spay cats operate without a hitch, those for canines have failed to take off because of government red tape and community objections.Remarkably, there has yet to be a government-supported TNVR campaign for dogs, says Fiona Woodhouse, deputy director of welfare of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).The SPCA introduced TNVR to Hong Kong in the ’90s because residents generally did not adopt abandoned pets, Woodhouse says. “There’s a high rate of animals being surrendered or caught for stray control. Lots of these animals end up being killed.”Its scheme, which began with cats, was formalised in 2000 and now neuters 6,000 felines every year.Since then, the SPCA had been lobbying the government to support a similar scheme for feral dogs, Woodhouse says, since dogs are more of an issue due to their larger size.But the closest the group got to realising this goal was a proposed trial in 2012. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) identified potential sites in Yuen Long, Sai Kung and Lamma Island for a three-year trial, with each spot targeting around 30 dogs. But the scheme, developed in collaboration with the SPCA and the Society for Abandoned Animals (SAA), eventually fell through because it failed to gain support from the district councils.Mak dismisses the 2012 trial as a little more than sop from officials to appease animal welfare groups.His organisation held a consultation in Sai Kung after it learned that the government might conduct a pilot scheme in the area. But when residents were asked whether they supported the campaign, most said they had never heard of it, Mak says. “Without an education campaign introducing what the programme is about and its benefits, the programme, of course, would not pass through district council as district councillors don’t want to create troubles.“Before we conducted the Lion Rock campaign, we visited each of the over 40 district councillors in Wong Tai Sin and explained to them what it was all about. They understood that the programme could benefit residents as there would be fewer complaints regarding nuisance from feral dogs. In the end, the Wong Tai Sin District Council gave unanimous support to the programme.”In Yuen Long, district councillor Zachary Wong Wai-yin says the AFCD has been half-hearted in getting the neutering scheme off the ground, suggesting that some officials found it more expedient to kill strays instead.“Yuen Long district council gave the green light to TNVR campaign as early as 2007 because stray dogs pose a severe problem for us. We have lots of construction sites in the district. When construction companies start work on a site, they bring in lots of dogs as guards. But when they leave after the works are completed, the dogs are abandoned. Many guard dogs are also ditched after warehouse leases expire. So Yuen Long is teeming with stray dogs.”Existing legislation, in particular the Rabies Ordinance, also presents a barrier to volunteers conducting dog neutering campaigns, says Elaine Siu, a lawyer and co-chair of advocacy group STOP Save HK’s Cats and Dogs.The ordinance requires a迷你倉l dogs over five months old to be vaccinated, licensed and microchipped. The animals must also be put on a leash or other form of control when in public spaces, and offenders face a HK$10,000 fine.“When a volunteer takes a stray dog to be microchipped and desexed, the person must register his name with the veterinary clinic, with the microchip identifying him as the owner. After the dog is released, the volunteer is liable for any incidents involving the animal, such as capture by AFCD officers or biting passers-by,” Siu says.“It’s ridiculous for the government to interpret the law in a way that equates the act of micro-chipping with legal ownership. The act of taking temporary possession of a dog for the purposes of examination, rabies vaccination and desexing should not make the volunteer become the owner of the animal.”Mak, who opened the first clinic to provide free neutering for strays in March, reckons he has, technically, been in breach of this law every day since setting up the non-profit Veterinary Service Society in 2006.Because all dogs must be kept under some kind of control in public spaces, he says, the society is contravening the law whenever it releases strays back to their old haunts after desexing.The issue of linking microchipping with ownership has dogged animal charities that promote neutering schemes for the past decade, says Fan Wan-ching, chief executive officer of the SAA.“Eighty per cent of pets are microchipped in Hong Kong. If the pet bites people on the street, the victim can seek compensation from the owner. But if a neutered stray attacks, the volunteers and the NGO can be liable for prosecution under the current law. NGOs cannot bear such potential cost.”Currently, the government does not have a formal policy on controlling the population of strays. The AFCD sends officials to capture stray animals only after receiving complaints from the public. The strays are typically kept for four days but are put down if unclaimed after that period.AFCD figures show that 19,656 dogs were killed between 2010 and 2012, compared to 7,419 cats. The effort to put down strays cost about HK$1.3 million annually, a spokesman says.In the long term, Woodhouse argues, it’s more economical for the government to adopt a neutering programme than kill strays. “I don’t think the government system is economically sustainable. To stabilise the feral population, you need to trap and kill 50 per cent [of the dogs]. We are not advocating a higher catch and kill rate – it’s a figure often quoted in scientific papers. And you need to do it every year. If the government just acts after complaints, it won’t get anywhere near that level required for stabilising population,” she says.“The rate for neutering to attain a stable population can be as low as 35 per cent. And for TNVR, much of the work is done by volunteers who are motivated to do something, so the direct cost to taxpayer can be significantly reduced.”But the issue goes beyond economics, Woodhouse adds.“We shouldn’t just see it from the perspective of population control. We need to look at the general welfare of the animals. Humane and non-lethal TNVR programmes can lead to less suffering.”Citing the SPCA’s cat colony programme, Woodhouse says it has had a big impact in stemming the cycle of disease and hunger when street cats produce litters of kittens.“When we see cats on the street now, they are healthier and there are not so many sick cats any more. We also see fewer kittens come in and a drop in cat euthanasia rate as well. [With greater awareness] the desex rate for pet cats also jumped from around 52 per cent in 2005 to around 72 per cent in 2010.”Now, after decades of lobbying from NGOs, the first government-backed TNVR campaign is set to finally get off the ground. Barring any last-minute objections from residents, a three-year trial in collaboration with the SAA and SPCA will start in Yuen Long and Cheung Chau this year.A department spokesman says both groups will be given exemptions under the rabies ordinance during this period – news that should undoubtedly bring sighs of relief to animal lovers across the city.elaine.yau@scmp.com迷你倉將軍澳

儲存倉 cqcbepaper.cqnews.net/cqcb/html/2014-01/07/content_1708402.htm...世相 近日，一個“麗江導遊罵遊客不買東西可恥”的視頻在網絡上被大量轉載。視頻顯示，一名導遊模樣的男子口出髒話，稱遊客沒有消...迷你倉最平

網家（8044）集團旗下露天拍賣搶冬季商機，迷利倉打出「低溫行銷」，昨（6）日宣布在業界首推「溫度購物節」，聯合旗下賣家依每日溫度推出折扣。法人估，露天去年獲利亮眼，有望貢獻集團每股純益1元，今年也有望維持成長動能。露天拍賣是網家集團旗下三大電子商務平台之一，以C2C拍賣業務為主，雖因獲利模式是抽取成交手續費，在集團中營收占比不高，但獲利持續攀升，近年成集團中獲利貢獻最多的小金雞。根迷你倉網路家庭財務報表，露天去年前三季獲利約9,429萬元，年增約三成，貢獻網家獲利達6,129萬元。去年第4季是旺季，獲利推估不低於第3季，因此全年貢獻獲利有望近億元，去年貢獻集團每股純益將達1元以上。露天拍賣行銷經理蔣成偉表示，今年天氣較早，保暖相關商品業績暴衝，露天緊急動員站上大型賣家推出「露天溫度購物節」活動，每天再依當日中央氣象局公布之台北市最低溫預報，彈性調整促銷商品折扣。自存倉

Source: The Blade, Toledo, OhioJan.儲存 05--Many of the complaints I hear about journalism have to do with supposed "bias" in how news stories are covered.Readers often think that reporters have a political or personal agenda in how they put together and write their stories. Most, though far from all, of those complaining think they detect "liberal" bias.That is likely because The Blade, which is officially an independent newspaper, often takes editorial positions perceived as being "liberal" on its editorial page, as in the newspaper's endorsements of President Obama, for example.Once in a while, someone will complain that the newspaper is unfairly slanted to the right, usually on local labor issues.The fact is that while columnists and editorial writers do have an agenda, most reporters do not -- except for finding out interesting and significant things and telling the world about them.That doesn't mean that there has never been a story in this newspaper that hasn't been improperly slanted to some degree.But after reading The Blade closely since I became ombudsman in 1998, I feel safe in saying that I have seen almost no political bias in the news columns whatsoever.What I do often find is that, much of the time, many readers tend to see stories through the influence of their own ideologies. Sometimes, when reviewing their complaints, I have almost wondered if they and I are reading the same article.For example, reader Joe O'Leary of Whitehouse complained about a story Blade staff writer Marlene Harris-Taylor wrote about the Affordable Care Act. Mr. O'Leary felt the story was "most misleading" and wondered "bad reporting and editing or bias?"The story in question, published on Dec. 21, ran inside the newspaper under the headline "Monday deadline looms for health insurance sign-up." I read it intently several times.The story, in fact, had no political point of view whatsoever. It began: "Monday is the deadline for the uninsured to enroll in a plan through the federal HealthCare.gov Web site for coverage to begin Jan 1, when health insurance coverage becomes mandatory for most Americans, although uninsured people can avoid a tax penalty if they enroll in an insurance plan by March 31."From there, it went on to tell how many people had signed up already, how they can get help signing up if they choose, and what they could expect to pay for different levels of coverage.This was standard information of the type I wish every newspaper supplied its readers. As someone who teaches journalism, I wouldn't say the story was perfect.Parts of it could have been better organized, and that first sentence was way too long. But I was genuinely puzzled.What bias?It turns out Mr. O'Leary apparently is a diehard opponent of President Obama's health insurance plan and thought the Dec. 21 story should have covered things he doesn't like about it, including "possible government subsidies."Well, those are legitimate issues that have been written about many times before. But the fact is that it is the law of the land, has been passed by Congress, and upheld by迷你倉the U.S. Supreme Court.And this is just a story informing readers how signing up for it works. I have no idea how Ms. Harris-Taylor feels politically about "Obamacare" and can't tell from this story.Which means she has done a completely professional job. That doesn't mean that stories are always "objective." Actually, that's one term I wish we would drop from our vocabulary.Reporters, editors, and readers make value judgments every day about what is in the paper. They have to do that.You might, on any given day, see a lot of space devoted to a front-page story on a car crash that kills three people, while a bus accident killing 40 in Mexico gets one paragraph inside the paper.Does that mean the paper sees Mexican lives as less valuable than those of Toledoans? Not at all. But the newspaper serves this region -- and the deaths of local folks are likely of more concern here.You certainly can disagree with the editors' priorities. I sometimes do myself. But those putting out the news are trying to do the best job they can to get that news, make sense of it, and put it in proportion every day, with limited space and time.I think the wonder is that they do it as well as they do.-- Nobody likes being edited. Dennis Kraynak of Perrysburg complained about a letter to the editor he wrote complaining that Buckeye CableSystem was no longer carrying WNWO, Channel 24.The newspaper ran his letter, but he complained that his last line was omitted, in which after he said he wanted the channel back, he said, "Otherwise, it may be Time [Warner] for a change."Your ombudsman is of two minds about this.On one hand, as the newspaper normally takes pains to make clear, The Blade and Buckeye CableSystem have the same owner, Block Communications Inc. If the letter was edited to remove a reference to a potential competitor, Time Warner cable, that would be ethically dubious. On the other hand, I thought Mr. Kraynak's attempt at a cute pun was more confusing than anything else.The main point of his letter was to demand Buckeye reinstate WNWO, and I think leaving out the last sentence actually made his main point more clear. The news sections of The Blade, incidentally, have fully covered the Buckeye/WNWO controversy.Anyone who has a concern about fairness or accuracy in The Blade is invited to write me, c/o The Blade; 541 N. Superior St., Toledo, 43660, or at my Detroit office: 563 Manoogian Hall, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202; call me at 1-888-746-8610; or email me at OMBLADE@aol.com. I cannot promise to address every question in the newspaper, but I do promise that everyone who contacts me with a serious question will get a personal reply. Reminder, however: If you don't leave me an email address or a phone number, I have no way to get in touch with you.Jack Lessenberry is a member of the journalism faculty at Wayne State University in Detroit and a former national editor of The Blade.Contact him at:Copyright: ___ (c)2014 The Blade (Toledo, Ohio) Visit The Blade (Toledo, Ohio) at .toledoblade.com Distributed by MCT Information Servicesself storage

陸客來台自由行去年人數突破50萬人次，迷你倉將軍澳較2012年成長兩倍多，觀光小兩會（我方為台旅會、大陸為海旅會）預定農曆春節過後協商會面時間，計畫再增加自由行的城市，原則上有直航班機的城市都在開放之列，最快今年上半年就可成行。據了解，新增自由行的大陸城市，以東北的哈爾濱、大連，山西的太原，江西南昌，江蘇徐州、鹽城、無錫，浙江溫州，甘肅蘭州等經濟實力與消費能力都相當強的九大城市，呼聲最高。官員說，目前兩岸直航的城市計有54個，但開放自由行的城市包括上海、北京、深圳等僅26個，我方認為有直航班機的城市，交通便利性極高，且很多人口多達六、七百萬，其經濟實力、消費能力都相當強，這類的城市應可解禁。官員表示，開放陸客來台自由行迄今已兩年半，來台人數持續成長，2012年有19餘萬人次，去年則突破50萬人次，大幅成長兩倍多，目前每天申倉入台證有3,000餘件（每天審核總量為4,380件），平均每天來台人數為1,900人，預期再增加自由行城市後，來台旅客量也會再增加。相關官員透露，去年12月觀光小兩會代表碰面時，雙方曾談到持續開放陸客來台自由行的城市，大陸認為開放自由行有助於兩岸人民的交流與了解，對此持正面態度，且很多大陸二、三線城市也希望列入自由行城市名單，因此，雙方計畫今年上半年協商時敲定新增城市。交通部官員認為，現在來台自由行陸客人數尚未達上限，但若平均每天來台人數達到2,500人，有必要思考進一步放寬人數限制，不過，須與國安單位、陸委會、內政部移民署等單位討論。據指出，為讓自由行陸客有多元的遊程可選擇，交通部觀光局除向陸客大力推薦「台灣觀光巴士」和「台灣好行」的旅遊路線外，也推薦台灣民眾喜歡旅遊的行程，並介紹具文創、藝術和地方特色的行程。24小時迷你倉

Newcastle hailed as a model for other cities facing industrial changeFIFTEEN years ago, the Australian coastal city of Newcastle, just north of Sydney, faced a grim and uncertain future as its once thriving steel industry came to an end.迷你倉出租For a city that had long been known as "the steel city", the closure of its BHP steelworks marked the end of an industry which had once employed 13,000 people. The BHP plant opened in 1915 and employed generations of steelworkers before winding down operations in 1999 as new technologies made the plant uncompetitive.But the city has not looked back.In a tale of urban recovery that is proving to be a model for other cities facing large-scale industrial change, the greater city of 550,000 people has transformed from a largely working- class city to one focused on education, health care and tourism.In recent weeks, as Australia's biggest carmaker, Holden, announced it was closing its plants in Melbourne and Adelaide, Newcastle has been cited as an inspiration by everyone from the state Premier of New South Wales, Mr Barry O'Farrell, to the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Abbott.Over the past decade, property prices in Newcastle have surged, tourists have flooded in, prize-winning architects have helped to redesign the waterfront and the city's university has expanded. In 2011, Newcastle even ranked in the world's top 10 cities to visit in a list compiled by the travel guide publisher Lonely Planet.A former lord mayor, Mr John Tate, who retired in 2012 and ran the city during the steelworks closure, said he had strong memories of the "deafening silence" of the plant on the day it closed.He said journalists had asked him, "Is this the end of Newcastle?", to which he replied, "No, this city has a future.""The transformation has been dramatic - it opened up new opportunities and new horizons," he told The Straits Times."It caused us to think beyond BHP and made us work harder as a community... We have gone from a navy-blue singlet workforce to a white-collar and trades workforce."On the city's waterfront, a stretch of abandoned former rail yards has been converted into the Honeysuckle development that features hotels, apartments, restaurants and bars. New hotels continue to go up in the inner city and along the beachfront.Mr Tate said the rejuvenation depended on close cooperation with BHP, which assisted with the retraining of workers and kept the authorities informed as its operations wound down gr迷你倉dually throughout the 1980s and 1990s.Tourism also benefited from improved air quality around the harbour as the plant closed, and from the city's proximity to the nearby wine region of the Hunter Valley, he said."As a community, we knew it was coming," he said."When the workers walked out of the gate, you could see in their faces there was apprehension but there was confidence... I always said that tourism was our great opportunity."But the revival and retraining of workers also depended on a close working relationship between then prime minister John Howard and the unions - a group which he usually opposed. The federal and state governments contributed to a taskforce to promote the local economy and put more than A$10 million (S$11.3 million) into a fund to kick-start job-creating opportunities.The University of Newcastle is now the highest-ranked Australian university outside a capital city and is expanding its campus. It has a campus in Singapore, where it began operating in 2002. The airport has gone from being a "tin shed" one to a large commercial hub, with passenger numbers increasing from 214,000 in 2003 to almost 1.2 million in 2012. The region's mines have benefited from increased coal prices and the port is one of the world's biggest coal terminals.Unemployment levels there dropped from 7.3 per cent in 2006 to 5.4 per cent last September - even as Australia's unemployment rose during the same period from 5.2 per cent to 5.7 per cent.A Newcastle-based commentator, Mr Ian Kirkwood, said last month that the BHP closure "turned out to be a good thing"."The economy didn't wither or collapse, it quickly grew and diversified," he wrote in The Newcastle Herald. "With the belching smoke... no longer polluting the atmosphere, the skies were suddenly, and literally, brighter."Newcastle's recovery is now seen as a model for other cities facing similar fates.Last year, the city of Geelong, near Melbourne, turned to "the Newcastle experience" as it began to prepare for the closure of a Ford car plant involving the loss of 1,200 jobs.Last month, Mr Abbott cited Newcastle's post-BHP rejuvenation as a model for Melbourne and Adelaide, the two cities which will lose jobs as a result of carmaker Holden's decision to stop manufacturing in Australia from 2017."They will not go from one job to no job," he told ABC Radio last month, referring to Holden's workers. "They will go from one job to a new job."jonathanmpearlman@gmail.commini storage

工展會今日閉幕，迷你倉不少參展商昨瘋狂割價促銷，吸引市民蜂擁搶購，展場昨人山人海，但過往吸引內地客瘋狂掃貨的貴價海味禮盒今年竟然滯銷，有售參茸海味展商稱，售數千元的花旗參及蟲草禮盒，今年銷量大跌三成，不少內地豪客不再買「原支」花旗參送禮，改為要求「切片」自用，估計是內地肅貪風潮影響。平價食品及年貨依舊大賣，不少更未到煞科日已經沽清，也有展商今日重推「一蚊」海味福袋吸引客人。海味商指今年貴價花旗參及蟲草禮盒滯銷，反而較平的花膠、元貝熱賣。（陸智豪攝）再推一蚊海味福袋南北行助理市務經理崔家權稱，今年蟲草等貴價海味銷量銳減，料是內地嚴厲打self storage，使購買海味送禮的內地客減少，反而較平價的花膠、元貝等熱賣，昨減價兩成至一百元八包的雪耳，數小時內迅速售罄。崔續指，今早十一時會再推出「一蚊」海味福袋，限量二十包，會安排市民在展攤旁的鐵欄內排隊輪候，額滿即止，相信展期首天有市民因搶購福袋跌倒的亂況不會再現。此外，平價小食繼續吸引市民搶購，有賣餅乾零食展商昨將原價五十元三包的馬來西亞餅乾，買三送一促銷，部分口味的餅乾昨已沽清。另外，有展商設特惠時段，以四十元三包燕麥促銷，負責人指特惠貨品銷情極佳，但指今年人流不及去年，內地客更大跌三成，相信是大會減少用旅遊巴接送內地團到工展會所致。迷利倉

Source: Albuquerque Journal, N.迷利倉M.Jan. 05--Imagine a book club where no reading is required and practical concepts from books are distilled for almost immediate application. You just dreamed up the The Totally Unconventional Business Book Club at Convivium Coworking, which meets about once a month, where one person presents highlights of a book and the group discusses whatever interesting ideas are generated.Deborah Reese, catalyst and founder at Convivium Coworking, got participants thinking as she described the concepts in Malcolm Gladwell's "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference," recently over a lunch break at the coworking offices on Anaheim NE."Change happens at a dramatic tipping point," she says of the book's theme. "There's no orderly geometric progression."Like a health epidemic, successful ideas spread through people who connect us and promote our ideas until they become widespread, a tipping point, she explains.From there she encouraged the group of about 30, some who are professionally acquainted, while others are strangers, to think of people who embody Gladwell's "Law of the Few," an economic idea, sometimes known as the 80/20 principle, that in most situations 20 percent of the participants do 80 percent of the work.Some of those effective few connect people, while others inform and still others persuade.Many identified a business associate who connected them all with others, kind of like an Albuquerque six-degrees of separation, a theory that everyone is six or fewer steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person in the world.Relating the book to their personal experience sparked more conversation, the goal of the structured networking event.The book club always sheds light on some aspect of his business or life, says attendee Don Hanna, head of Bladewerx in Rio Rancho: "It exposes me to books I might not know about, concepts I might not know about. It's like someone recommending books to you, but better. I run a small business, so I'm always looking for ways to do that better."Going deeperReese chose the Gladwell book because reading it caused her to think in new ways: "I looked at things in a new light."At ease and relaxed in front of the crowd, Reese has presented several other books and says the experience is eye-opening: "I've found a huge value being a presenter. I go back and reread the book and I'm stunned at the new level of depth and understanding I find."The book club was an obvious offshoot of the coworking environment, she says. "We get to share in the joy of learning, for the sake of learning."Conventional book clubs have a problem. Although everyone is expected to have read the book that's up for discussion, sometimes people don't, she says."Th迷你倉t seems like a waste of time. If one of us presents a book we love, people can walk away with a snapshot, knowing whether they want to read it or not. This way everyone is equal. We can all discuss the juiciest parts of the book," Reese says.For the past year about 30 or so people have gathered every month for the book club, announced on Meetup, a social networking website for offline meetings, and on the Convivium Coworking website.One of the organizers, Susana Rinderle, who has her own consulting business for diversity training and shares space at Convivium, says the book club provides a great opportunity to learn something new from a book that might not have appealed to her: "It's super efficient. You get the benefit of the book, without having to read it."Besides, she enjoys the company of her colleagues: "They're bright, funny and into a lot of cool stuff."Although books on business and careers are the topic, any book that supports those is fair game for the club, she says.For example, this month, she's presenting Daniel H. Pink's "A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future," because it offers ways of incorporating creative thought with more traditional linear thinking styles, she says."I'm a big fan of his. He's ahead of the curve," she says. " He's hilarious."Another organizer, Renee Giraudo Holmes, a mechanical engineer who also works at Bladewerx in Rio Rancho, says the book club always stimulates some new thought: "It really helps me in my professional life. Every time I go, there are aha moments for me. I'm 29. I appreciate the experienced business professionals there. I learn a lot from them."Clifton Chadwick, chief executive officer of KeepItQuerque, an alliance of local businesses, says he's presented a few of his favorite books to the club.He likes the book club because "it's an opportunity to walk the talk and to engage with like-minded people in a different way of doing things."But that doesn't mean the discussions get boring: "We are like-minded to certain degrees and different in others." Go UnconventionalThe next meeting of The Totally Unconventional Business Book Club is at Convivium Coworking, 5924 Anaheim NE, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Jan. 22.Susana Rinderle, a diversity training consultant and Convivium member, who has also been a TEDxABQ speaker, will present "A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future," by Daniel H. Pink.The event is free, but registration is suggested. Everyone is welcome and can bring a lunch, if they choose. Visit conviviumcoworking.com/ events for information.Copyright: ___ (c)2014 the Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, N.M.) Visit the Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, N.M.) at .abqjournal.com Distributed by MCT Information Services自存倉

The Year of the Horse will see consumers worldwide continue to focus on smartphones and media tablets, as manufacturers trot out bigger displays on these devices.迷你倉Many of those new models are expected to be featured at the annual International Consumer Electronics Show, scheduled to run from tomorrow until Friday in Las Vegas, and at the Mobile World Congress, which will be held from February 24 to 27 in Barcelona.With demand for smartphones and tablets still on the rise, global sales of personal computers are expected to remain sluggish this year.Combined market forecasts from Barclays, IDC and Gartner show that global smartphone shipments, led by handsets that run Google’s Android operating system, are expected to rise 30 per cent to a record high 1.24 billion units this year, from an estimated 953.89 million last year.Worldwide tablet shipments are predicted to grow 17 per cent this year to a record 244.79 million units, up from an estimated 208.62 million last year when Apple’s iPad continued to lead this market segment.In a Barclays report last week, lead author Kirk Yang, the company’s head of technology hardware research for Asia, excluding Japan, said: “With no imminent changes in the global PC industry, we expect PC shipments to again decline year on year.”Global shipments of notebook and desktop personal computers will fall 8 per cent this year to 286.81 million units, down from an estimated 312 million last year, according to combined marketself storageforecasts from Barclays, IDC and Gartner.Yang pointed out that the sharp decrease in personal computer shipments began in 2012, when consumer sales of tablets started to grow significantly.The demand for personal computers has also been challenged by the increased popularity of “phablets”, he said.A phablet, which is a portmanteau of the words “phone” and “tablet”, represents a new smartphone category that features large screens with a diagonal measurement as big as 7 inches.Barclays credited Lenovo, the world’s largest supplier of personal computers, for being “the only PC company that has managed to successfully expand into the new product areas” of smartphones and tablets.Koh Kong Meng, a Lenovo vice-president and general manager of its East Asia operations, said that the company was “seriously considering entering the phablet market”.Yang said that Apple might also follow this trend and unveil two phablets, the anticipated iPhone 6 in the third quar-ter and the iPhone 6s early next year.He said Apple was also expected to introduce a new iPad with a 12.9-inch screen and a keyboard, which is widely speculated to replace its MacBook Air product line.IDC said in a report that the global market “has trended toward small tablets in a big way over the last 24 months, but the rise of large phones could well push consumers back to larger tablets as the difference between a 6-inch smartphone and a 7-inch tablet isn’t great enough to warrant purchasing both”.迷利倉

隨著OPEN DATA的興起，儲存海量資料分析與應用持續在台灣發燒，而「人才培訓」被視為企業首要任務。GARTNER預測，2015年時，全球將有440萬個海量資料相關的IT工作，但人才缺口高達三分之二。因應海量資料工作所出現的人才缺口，繼SAS、微軟之後，台灣IBM日前宣布與台大、清大、政大等國立大學共同合作培養相關人才。IBM已經在全球各地與1,000多所學校合作開設海量資料分析課程，持續培育兼具技術與決策能力的人才。IDC在台灣巨量資料分析市場調查報告中顯示，台灣企業對海量資料分析的需求在未來3年內將有更顯著的成長，然而「欠缺擁有巨量資料分析技能的員工」被列為企業進行海量資料分析時的前三大挑戰之一。研究機構GARTNER更預測，2015年全球將有440萬個海量資料相關的IT工作職缺，唯目前尚未有真正以海量資料為背景的科系，因此面臨三分之二的人才缺口。台灣IBM軟體事業處副總經理林世偉說明，要成為優迷你倉的資料科學家，必需具備「統計知識、科學經驗、產業知識」三大條件，才能有效將數據轉化成商務洞察，協助組織提升商業價值。IBM表示，長期以來已經將海量資料分析技術應用在四大網球公開賽中，IBM近期更與中國大陸網球公開賽合作，資料科學家團隊協助為球迷提供即時數據呈現、計分等查詢服務；同時綜合分析平台中的歷史與即時數據，洞悉比分變化後的態勢和賽事策略，讓球迷們從全新的角度體驗賽事之美。除了提升賽事體驗，海量資料分析還可應用在醫療產業，資料科學家可依據特定地區中氣候及環境情況的變化，利用最新的分析模型，結合人口分析、疾病傳播途徑計算方法，預測傳染性疾病爆發的地區，以針對影響嚴重的地區提早防範，確保疾病獲得有效控制。在BIG DATA時代，IBM預見資料科學家的龐大市場需求與嚴重人才缺口，希望透過產學合作培養更多優秀人才，以利在海量資料分析應用蓬勃發展之際，協助企業、組織掌握關鍵技術，洞察新商機並創造新商業價值。儲存倉